The recession has awoken many to the importance of minding their cash flow. Third-party personal-finance sites have been able to able to capitalize on Americans' malaise toward financial institutions and a newfound willingness to address their own personal financial crisis. As a result, budgeting is booming.

"Saving is the new black," says Peter Pham, CEO of BillShrink, a comparison-shopping site. "It's cooler to be savvy about finances now."

Fashion aside, for many consumers there's a more general sense that the bill has come due. It only takes a quick glance at a vacant shopping mall or a crowded bargain bin to see that many are making a historic effort to live within their means. Partially it's a cultural shift, but also some Americans, including those who have taken a paycut or experienced a layoff, are finding themselves in tougher financial circumstances than they previously imagined.

Money-management site Mint.com, which debuted in September 2007 has gone from 500,000 users last September to more than 1.5 million users a year later. The site allows users to upload multiple accounts, such as checking, savings and brokerage, and analyze their spending and saving patterns. Budgeting is by far the most-requested feature on the site, Aaron Patzer, Mint's founder and CEO says.

Intuit's Quicken, a long-term player in the budget software market, stripped away its $2.99 monthly fee for Quicken Online in October of last year. Since yielding to the demands for free budgeting tools, they site has grown from 200,000 customers to 1.4 million.

BillShrink.com, which allows consumers to compare different cell phone plans and credit-card offers, has likewise seen growth. Unique visitors to the site have gone from 65,000 in January this year to 650,000 in July, says Mr. Pham.

However, it's unclear we'll stick with our frugality after the Great Recession. According to an April survey from HSBC, 76% of respondents said they will return to their old habits when financial conditions improve.

There's also concern that the new budgeters flocking to sites don't necessarily represent a new breed of long-term financial responsible consumers. Some of them may have used Excel charts or desktop software in the past says Jim Bruene, editor of industry newsletter Online Banking Report. However, the crisis may have been a catalyst for some to dive into budgeting and stick with it.

"People used to put this stuff on the backburner," he says. "You can't anymore."